Artist: Casiotone for the Painfully Alone
Genre(s):
Pop
Indie
Discography:
Etiquette
Year: 2006
Tracks: 12
Twinkle Echo
Year: 2003
Tracks: 14
Pocket Symphonies for Lonesome Subway Car
Year: 2001
Tracks: 16
Casiotone for the Painfully Alone is the lo-fi solo project of Portland, OR, indie son Owen Ashworth. His songwriting is part Bright Eyes-sensitive singer/songwriter grief balladry and Atom & His Package battery-operated antics. His weapons of option are Casio SK-1 and his hot pole Casiotones. His lyrics are a coy-edged blend of Stephin Merritt's sarcasm and the Mountain Goats' earnestness.
Broadly speaking a concept record album of cagey musical part mails, his first recording, Respondent Machine Music: A Brief Album in Twelve Parts, was released in 1999 on his own label, Cassingle USA. Some of the tracks, including "Root from David Hanna," were first recorded into his car. Pocket Symphonies for Lonesome Subway Cars followed in 2001 on Tomlab and featured several "real" instruments, including violoncello and drums. In 2003, Ashworth released Twinkle Echo, followed by Etiquette in 2006.
